Make Money Money Take Money Money

For the last eight years, up until February 3, 2014, Ben Bernanke toiled away in Washington as a public servant. He took a lot of crap for not a lot of money (compared to what he could’ve been making in the private sector) and he’s got the JoS A. Bank suits to prove it. Was […]

LightSquared is a wireless venture that seeks to create “convenient connectivity for all.” Unfortunately, as the Wilbur Falcone fans among us know, it’s looking like it’ll be a dark day in hell before that happens, on account of bunch of forces working together to shut this thing down at every turn, including but not limited to the yachting community that claims GSP interference caused by LS will result in boats getting lost at sea; the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, which has said LightSquared “may degrade precision services that track hurricanes, guide farmers and help build flood defenses”; and the FAA, which recently put out a study estimating LS could “cost 794 lives in aviation accidents over 10 years with disruptions to satellite-aided navigation.” Also not helping is that LightSquared filed for bankruptcy in May, the company is blowing through cash faster than Wilbur’s Studio 54 days, and senior executives won’t stop quitting. While some people might take stock of the situation and decide, at this point, to throw in the towel, Wilbur Falcone’s benefactor is not some people. He’s making this thing work if it’s the last thing he does. So, what to do? Obviously a couple of miracle workers are going to be needed and the thing about miracle workers is that they don’t come cheap. Gotta spend money to make money.

Troubled wireless-satellite company LightSquared wants permission to dole out up to nearly $6 million in cash bonuses to four of its top employees, including its interim chief executive. Recent months have seen LightSquared burn through money–it has spent $134.3 million since filing for bankruptcy in May, according to its most recent monthly operating report, and executives alike. In court papers filed Wednesday, LightSquared said four senior executives have left the company in the past six months, including its former chairman of the board and CEO. The company wants to make sure four “irreplaceable employees” stick with the company as it attempts to claw its way out of bankruptcy protection and help to make the reorganization as fast and cheap as possible. LightSquared’s bonus proposal paves the way for a “total possible cash payout of approximately $5.985 million” over two years, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Four employees–interim CEO, president and chairman of the board Douglas Smith; Chief Financial Officer Marc R. Montagner; general counsel Curtis Lu; and its executive vice president, regulatory affairs & public policy Jeffrey Carlisle–would be eligible for incentives consisting of cash and restricted stock units paid in shares of the company’s current common stock.

If the executives satisfy cash preservation goals, make progress in LightSquared’s efforts to resolve certain regulatory issues and emerge from bankruptcy by the end of 2013, they’ll receive vesting of all issued stock and “aggregate incentive payments of cash up to 285% of each such key employee’s annual salary,” LightSquared said. Hitting less aggressive goals, like exiting bankruptcy by the end of June 2014, would come with smaller payouts, like a cash bonus equal to 100% of the executives’ annual salary, in the case of the mid-2014 bankruptcy exit. Mr. Smith currently makes $700,000 annually; Mr. Montagner and Mr. Lu $500,000 each; and Mr. Carlisle $400,000. LightSquared said each of the employees “provides critical services, drives performance, and impacts LightSquared’s ability to enhance value in the Chapter 11 cases.” The group has also had to take on extra work recently, as more and more employees have left LightSquared both voluntarily and involuntarily. The company said its total employee headcount has dropped by 60% in the last six months. The bonus plan aims to motivate the company’s leaders to manage its businesses and working capital effectively and maximize the value of the estate for the benefit of all stakeholders, LightSquared said.

LightSquared Seeks to Pay Key Executives up to $6M in Bonuses [DowJones]

When was the last time you took a second look at your student loans? If you’re like most borrowers, you probably try hard not to think about them. After all, dwelling on your debt isn’t going to make it go away any faster. Or is it?

In 2010, the 10 best paid hedge fund managers made a combined $17.53 billion. To score a place on the list, you had to earn at least $440 million. 2011? The group took home a collective pool of $10.15 billion (down 42 percent) and a mere $210 million got you access to the VIP lounge. […]

As you may have heard, earlier this week Charles Sheen (née Carlos Irwin Estevez) joined Twitter, gaining approximately five trillion followers in under an hour. So far the pearls of wisdom proffered from Sheen’s firebreathing fists/fingers have included: “Face it folks, you just feel better when you say it. #WINNING,” “I’m here for my people..!” […]

UBS lost a lot of money over the last few years. Some might call it as metric-ass tons of money, others will say shit-tons. Whatever, the point is, it was a lot. A whole lot. The Swiss bank has recently begun a PR offensive that involves the message “it will not rest” until it regains […]

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Sep 15, 2010 at 11:12 AM

SAC

Mary Jo White was the top federal prosecutor in New York City during Bill Bratton’s first run as the Big Apple’s top cop, and she learned a few lessons from his “broken windows” theory: Clean a place up a little, and throw the fucking book at the street urchins who are messing things up with […]